


Two Hearts of Stone

by rebeccasbunch



Category: Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (TV), Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-05
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-22 22:52:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17671637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rebeccasbunch/pseuds/rebeccasbunch
Summary: AU that takes place after Outlander 410 and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend 411. Roger MacKenzie goes through the standing stones and ends up in West Covina, California, where he befriends Nathaniel Plimpton III.





	Two Hearts of Stone

Roger heard the buzzing. He couldn’t believe his eyes. He was looking at stones. Standing stones.

He looked behind. Had he lost the Mohawk? They could be on his trail. This might be his only chance, to be free, to go home… but to lose Bree.

He took a deep breath and scrambled up the hill, slipping on the leaves that covered the forest floor on his way up. The buzzing got louder. He was in the middle of the stone circle. He approached the largest stone. His ears vibrated with the sound of the buzzing. He closed his eyes, tried not to think of Bree, and put his hand out…

—————————————————

Next thing he knew the buzzing had stopped. He was lying on the ground. Not on the ground. On concrete. He looked up, shielding his eyes from the bright sunshine. It was hot here. The pavement burned. Hotter than North Carolina or wherever he was…

After a short struggle, he managed to get up and look at his surroundings. He saw a freeway, with cars racing by, but they looked nothing like the cars he had driven in Scotland or America. He saw a sign hanging from an overpass, and tried to see the letters despite the sun’s glare.

WEST COVINA  
POP. 105,080

West Covina? He brushed the hair off his face. He walked along the concrete, past a wall covered in graffiti. He came to an open area and saw a fountain. He rushed to it, slurping up the water and pouring it over his blood-stained face. As he let out a sigh of relief, he noticed people staring. Not a surprise considering his rags, the cuts on his face, his long beard, and the black eye that still hadn’t healed. A man asked him if he would like to buy a pretzel, but he declined (he didn’t mention that he didn’t have any money). This has got to be what this place looks like in my time. But…

He couldn’t help but feel that something was off. That the stones hadn’t worked the way he thought they would. How could palm trees be surrounding a shopping mall on the east coast?

—————————————————

Nathaniel Plimpton III was in a rush, as usual. He was heading to the gym after leaving Mountainview for the day. He had to find somewhere where he could stop thinking, stop thinking about Rebecca, stop thinking about her and Greg, stop thinking about how he had to let her go. He was walking through the courtyard of the West Covina shopping center when some raggedy homeless man bumped into him.

“Excuse me,” he said as he pushed the man to the side. But the man followed him.

“Hello, sir, I was just wondering… where this place is.”

“Ummm… West Covina.” Idiot.

“I know that… but where is West Covina?”

“You’re in California. And excuse me, I don’t talk to homeless people.”

“Please, wait,” Roger pleaded as Nathaniel began to walk away again. “What is the date?”

“February 1st.”

“and…” Roger asked sheepishly. “what year?”

“2019.”

Nathaniel walked away. “2019,” mumbled Roger. His voice grew louder. “2019!!!” He leaned on his knees, breathing heavily. Nathaniel looked back and rolled his eyes. He would have left that homeless man by himself, but he remembered that he was a nice person now.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine,” Roger panted.

“Do you need clean clothes or something? I’m nice now.”

“Ok…” Roger said, eyeing this tall, clean-cut man suspiciously. He was wearing something dark, shiny, and unrecognizable on his wrist. So it was true, that he was in the future. And he certainly did need to change before he attracted even more attention. “Yes. Thank you,” he sighed.

“What’s with the accent?”

“I’m… Scottish.”

“Hm. Interesting. My apartment’s this way and…” Nathaniel tried to speak to the stranger as nicely as possible. “Stay a couple feet behind me. You smell.”

 

—————————————————

Nathaniel watched Roger gulp down glass after glass of water. Nathaniel rolled his eyes. This guy needs to learn how important hydration is to physical fitness. Nathaniel looked away as Roger splashed his face with water, tearing out the small leaves and twigs that were tangled in his beard. Once Roger had paused, breathing heavily as he leaned on the sink, Nathaniel spoke to this strange man. “Do you need a change of clothes… or something?”

“Yes… yes. That would be… great.”

“You certainly need it,” Nathaniel mumbled as he stared at the rags Roger was wearing. “But please,” he stopped Roger as he walked toward the closet, “take a shower first.” Soon Roger was dressed in a blue button-down shirt and a pair of khakis, with his wet thick hair combed back. Nathaniel looked him up and down. At least it doesn’t look like I’m spending time with a homeless dude anymore, he thought.

Roger collapsed on the bed, even though Nathaniel hadn’t given him permission. Nathaniel tensed, but reminded himself that he was a nice person now, so he shouldn’t yell at a guy who looks like he’s been through a lot. Maybe, he needs to be comforted or something? Nathaniel sat quietly at the edge of the bed. He realized he never bothered to ask this man what his name was. Nathaniel cleared his throat. “I’m Nathaniel Plimpton III, Esq. And you are?”

“Roger. Roger MacKenzie.”

“Ok.” Nathaniel paused. He did his best to look like he really cared “What brings you to West Covina?”

“Ummmm…” Roger grasped for an answer. “I’ve been traveling through the country and, well, I ended up here.”

“You’ve been… walking?”

“Uh, yes. My car- it broke down- I can’t remember where.”

“And you’ve been walking since then?” Nathaniel eyed his guest.

“…yes.” Roger gulped.

“Why did you leave Scotland?”

“Well… this girl… I was in love with her… I didn’t know if she loved me anymore. I found out that she… moved to America. And I came after her.”

“…did you find her?”

“Yes. But-“ Roger wiped his eyes. “She rejected me. Sent me away.”

Nathaniel immediately thought about Rebecca, about her and Greg. About how he wanted her to be happy… “sometimes you just have to let someone go, if they’ll be happier that way.”

“But it was all a misunderstanding.” Roger raised his voice. “She doesn’t understand just how much… I’d do anything for her.”

“What’s her name?” Nathaniel asked quietly.

“Brianna. Do you… have someone?”

“I did,” Nathaniel replied. “Her name was… is… Rebecca.” He tried to find a way to cheer up his guest. “Maybe you can go back and talk to Brianna and sort this whole thing out. Sometimes a conversation is all that you need.”

“It’s not that simple.” Roger wanted to yell.

“I’ve got a car,” Nathaniel replied. “I could pay for a plane ticket, you could go anywhere in the country. I-“

“SHE’S IN 1769.”

“Uh… what?”

“She’s in the past. I followed her into the past. And then I left her.” Roger began to sob.

Nathaniel couldn’t deal with this much emotion. “I’ll give you some space.” He walked away from the bed. This man was probably crazy, but still, he had to leave someone he loved. Maybe he and this stranger weren’t so different…

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you guys think!


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